Life's A Wild Ride
by FadedToPretend
Summary: Your typical Dally/OC story. Laura wants to teach Dallas how to love, but he ain't too keen on learning. Better than it sounds, I hope.
1. Chapter 1

**Life's A Real Wild Ride  
><strong>Chapter One: Epilouge

A/N: This is my first Outsiders fanfic in _awhile.  
><em>And when I say awhile, boy do I mean it...  
>Maybe you'll be able to guess who I am. Used<br>to be quite well known around here back on my  
>old account.<p>

Summary: Your typical DallyxOC fic. Laura wants  
>to show Dallas how to love, but he ain`t too<br>keen on learning. Better than it sounds.

xxx

She had never been a real wild child. Never went to no wild parties, never snuck out after dark. Laura Anne Forbes was the poster child for the _perfect _child - Least, that`s what her parents would say anyway. She wasn`t happy that they`d moved  
>her all the way to the other side of Tusla after encountering some money problems,<br>up to where all the Greasers hung around.

Laura wasn`t soc - more middle class than anything, but she still didn`t blend too well in the neighbourhood. While the greaser girls wore next to nothing, Laura was more on the sheltered side and kept herself covered up pretty well. She was especially careful to do this on her first day in town, which just happened to be today. She was sitting on her porch watching her parents unload heaps of boxes from the car, unable to help but think how nervous this new town truly made her.

The streets were covered with garbage and grime that nobody bothered to pick up, and the houses were all rather shabby.. her own being no exception. Pain was peeling off the sides and there was a crack in one of the glass windows, while the screen door was practically coming off it`s hinges. She was about to stand up and head inside when something across the street caught her eye; or rather, _someone._ A group of boys had just exited the house across the street hollering with laughter as if they didn`t have a care in the world. They briefly glanced her way, probably out of curiosity she figured, before continuing to make their way up the street.

Seeing all them boys together, Laura felt a pang of loneliness for what she`d left behind back on the other side of town. Surely none of her friends would have the guts to talk to her anymore. As much as the socs hated the greasers, the middle-classers usually took it upon themselves to ignore them altogether. No one wanted to acknowledge the no good hoods that went around slashing tires and getting into knife fights.

Knowing all this, Laura absentmindedly wondered if she was safe in the new neighbourhood. If a greaser didn`t rough her up, then surely a passing soc would. She`d heard all the stories about them - how they threw beer blasts and jumped greasers for fun. They seemed just as dangerous as their opposing social class, the brunette thought.

"Hey, Laura Anne!" her mother called suddenly, breaking the petite girl out of her thoughts. "Would you mind taking the car and running down to the convinience store for me? There`s a couple things we need. It`s... The DX, I think it`s called." Her mother smiled wistfully at the obviously unhappy teenager, taking out a ten dollar bill and a list of supplies and handing them both to her daughter.

"You be careful now," She warned, flashing Laura a meaningful look.

_-_

Laura pulled up into the DX parking lot a couple minutes later, ready to get the first thing on the list - gas. The tank had already been low before the move, and now it was in desperate need of a filling. She was waiting patiently for some service when she noticed a group of about six boys standing off near one of the fill stations - greasers. Laura, despite herself, bit her lip. They sure did look real tough.

Hesitantly, she stepped out of her parents`black SUV and whistled - something she`d been even _more _hesitant about. "Excuse me boys," She said, her voice lacking the same confidence her show of getting their attention had displayed. "Do any of you happen to work here? The tank`s low." She guestured uselessly to the car, beginning to feel rather nervous now that she was aware of all six boys` eyes on her.

One of the boys, clad in a DX uniform and a dashing smile grinned at her. "Sure thing miss," He said, and Laura couldn`t help but notice (like any girl would) that he was absoloutely gorgeous. He ran round to the filling station she`d parked at, but his friends were still eyeing her with the slightest curiosity.

Another boy, one that was also in a DX uniform, nodded in her direction. "You from around here?" He asked her. "Ain`t never seen nobody like you come round here before. No _girl, _anyway."

Laura shifted her weight nervously. She felt a great deal uncomfortable talking to these boys, not only because of the way they looked but because of the penetrating glances that all six of them seemed to be giving her at once. "I ain`t originally from this neighbourhood," She told them cooly. "Just moved in today."

A boy with rusty-colored hair and sideburns grinned at her then, and she felt her stomach turn. "You don`t look like no greaser," He told her. "You a soc?"

Laura gulped, only now realizing that all of the boys were looking her over with looks of suspicion on their faces. It was only then that she realized she was an outsider; she didn`t belong in this part of town and she never would.

Taken aback by the abrupt question, she frowned. "A - a what?"

She knew what a soc was, she wasn`t stupid. But Laura figured it would be best to just play it cool for now, act like she didn`t understand a word of what they were talking about.

"A soc," growled another one of the boys, his icy blue eyes hardening as they made contact with her own. "A rich kid. Nice clothes, fancy cars.. ring a bell?"

Laura, taken aback by his rudeness, quickly shook her head. "No... Gosh, no! I came from up that way, but if you wanna give me a label I`d say middle class at best. I`m Laura Forbes. Moved in just a couple hours ago."

The boy who`d been filling her gas tank grinned, having reappeared by now. "Nice `ta meetcha Laura!" He said. "I`m Sodapop. That over there is my brother Ponyboy, and beside him is Johnny. Then there`s Dally, Steve, and Two-Bit - the one with the sideburns." The gorgeous greaser flashed her a wink which made her cheeks burn, but Laura hid it promptly by turning away.

"Listen, I`ve still got some stuff to pick up. It was nice meeting y`all though," She said, flashing the boys a hesitant smile. "Guess I`ll see you around?"

Two-Bit smirked. "Count on it, babe. I`ll be waitin`."

xxx

Heh. Boring, I know... I just wanted to get the introductions over with.  
>To tell the truth, I`m not exactly sure where this story is going... I`m only<br>really sure of the end. Always getting too ahead of myself... ha! Anywho, if  
>you enjoyed the first chapter please review. More should be along soon!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Life's A Wild Ride  
><strong>_Chapter Two_

**A/N:** Only took me two years to update this again... Sorry about that!

xx

"Laura-Anne..."

Laura sighed. She should have known this would happen, leaving the middle-class part of town to move to the rougher part of town. Not that she'd really had a choice in the matter, but that still didn't  
>matter to Ricky. Ricky was her boyfriend. <em>Was<em>; past tense, since she was sure he was about to break things off with her right then and there. The apologetic tone in his voice was a dead giveaway.  
>He'd always been a sweet guy, and she knew he probably felt terrible having to do this, but it was just the way their society was. She held up a hand to stop him from further explanation, forcing a smile<br>as best as she could.

"Look, Ricky, you don't have to apologize," She said, leaning casually against his car and shrugging a shoulder. He'd driven all the way up to her new house to do this. First he'd called her up saying they  
>needed to talk, not that she'd known what that meant already. "I know how it is. I ain't Middle Class anymore, and you can't be seen slumming around with a hood." The brunette began to feel slightly<br>angry as she spoke, though she couldn't decide who she was more angry with - Him, or society in general. Certainly not her parents, since it wasn't exactly _their _fault she was here. Everyone had money  
>troubles sometimes; the real disappointment was that her friends couldn't stick around when the money was gone.<p>

Ricky's dark eyebrows furrowed and he took a hesitant step towards her, reaching for her hands. Laura however stepped back, suddenly feeling defensive. "Don't try and make this seem better than this  
>is," She snapped suddenly. "Don't try to make it seem like you ain't falling into society's trap Ricky, because you are. I know I said it's alright, but it's not. If you're gonna go, you should just go." The<br>petite brunette nodded towards his car, hinting that he should go. Ricky seemed to know this, because with one last glance in her direction, he climbed back into the vehicle, pulled out of the driveway,  
>and took off down the road.<p>

Laura shrugged off the encounter and headed down the driveway herself, desperate to take a walk and blow off some of the steam. She was hurt, sure, but it wasn't the end of the world. If Ricky was  
>going to let something as simple as money and social class come between their relationship, she didn't need him anyway. A walk would do her some good; blow Ricky right out of her mind. Not that she<br>knew the neighbour hood well, so she wouldn't be able to go very far without getting lost, but that didn't really matter. She just needed to be alone with her thoughts right now.

But as luck would have it, being too lost in her thoughts ended up with her just getting lost in general (not that she shouldn't have been able to see that coming). She didn't know where she was or  
>how she'd gotten there, only that it looked like a pretty shady area and that it was pitch black outside by now. She bit her lip, glancing wildly around for a familiar face - But who was really familiar in<br>this town? She'd been here a day, and needless to say she hadn't made many friends. The Middle Classers didn't want her because she'd switched neighbourhoods, the hoods didn't want her because  
>she looked too proper.<p>

"Lookin' a little lost there girly."

She closed her eyes briefly in relief, the maliciousness of the sentence not quite registering in her mind just yet. She turned quickly on her heel to face the the source of the voice, only to find herself  
>instead facing a rather drunk looking greaser. He was a rather big guy; heavyset and quite tall, with dark, slicked-back hair. Typical hood she thought, taking an instinctive step backwards at the sight<br>of him. Today _really _wasn't her day, was it?

"Uh, no..." Laura inwardly cursed at how pathetic she sounded; _god, _it was like she was asking for trouble. "Not at all. I was just taking a walk, and - " She stopped short upon seeing the dangerous  
>smirk on his face, noting the way his steps had quickened as he continued to walk towards her. She would have turned and ran had she not backed up into a wall, or if she had anywhere to run to<br>in the first place. If she ran, he would chase her. And besides, who was to say he wanted to harm her anyway?

Oh, who was she kidding!

"You sure?" The unknown greaser continued, so close now that she could feel his hot breath on her cheek. "You sure don't look like you're from around here, babe. What's the matter, your boyfriend  
>dump you off or somethin?" He leered at her, seemingly finding the situation rather amusing. She wondered, in that moment, what his intentions were (even though she had a pretty good idea). Hell,<br>either way, she didn't really want to stick around to find out.

"Get away from me!" She hissed suddenly, making a weak attempt to shove him backwards and take off down the street. As she started running though, she felt his hand wrap around her wrist and  
>roughly pull her back towards him, slamming her up against the brick wall once again. She didn't know what to do; scream, cry out... Either way she could do neither, since his hands were clamped<br>down against her mouth and his lips were assaulting her neck. Instinctively, the brunette bit down on his hand until she tasted blood. The man looked livid; in fact she was nearly sure he was about to  
>hit her, until suddenly he was pulled away and shoved down onto the ground.<p>

"What the fuck's going on here?!" A second male voice rang out, and Laura looked up to see him standing above her attacker with a fist raised. He looked absoloutely terrified and was stuttering out  
>what she assumed was an apology, all the while backing as far away as possible from the other guy. "Get out of here now!"<p>

Laura sank down against the wall, only now recognizing that she'd seen this boy before. The other day at The DX in fact, he'd been there with Sodapop and the rest of those boys. What was his  
>name... Dallas, of course. Dally. Like the city in Texas.<p>

"God," She breathed out, staring up gratefully into his hardened features. "I- I don't know what I would have done if you - "

Dally could only glare at her. For someone who had just saved her a minute ago, he didn't seem all that kind hearted. "Maybe you should think about that next time you go out wanderin' in the dark by  
>yourself," He snapped at her, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her to her feet. She cringed upon realizing his grip was just as rough as her attacker's had been. He started to turn away from her<br>as she pondered this, but Laura stopped him before he could.

"You can't just leave me here, I'm lost!" She protested, only just now realizing how chilly the air had gotten. "I - I live up by those boys... Ponyboy and Sodapop? Can't you - "

Dally turned back to her, his face just as emotionless as it had always been. "Walk down the street, take a left, go up Thompson, take another left, walk a little down the street, and you'll find yours.  
>I ain't got time to be your knight in shining armour, princess." He shot her another cold look, ignoring the fact that her eyes were starting to water and she was obviously terribly close to crying. The<br>girl was visibly unnerved after what had just happened to her, but that didn't mean he should walk her home and make sure she got back safe and sound and all that. Everyone in this neighbourhood  
>knew no proper looking female should be out walking by themselves; they were asking for it if they did.<p>

Before she could thank him, even for that little bit of help, he was gone.

With a sigh, the petite brunette took another look around at her surroundings and cautiously began to make her way home. Dallas Winston had saved her from a pretty close call that night, and still  
>managed to be a complete jerk in the process. She'd never understand boys like that. <p>


	3. Chapter 3

Life's a Wild Ride  
><em>Chapter 3<br>__  
><em>**A/N: **Don't know why the last chapter was so screwed up. Hopefully it won't happen this time.

xx

It was a couple days before she saw Dallas Winston again. She hadn't told her parents of the encounter with the thug; she didn't want to worry them and have them regret moving her to this town. They didn't deserve that. But if she was going to live around these parts, Laura figured she'd need some protection. A lotta the guys around here carried switchblades around for safety; she'd seen one in Dallas' pocket the night he'd saved her from that goon. If _they _had the right to yield a weapon, she had the right to yield a weapon.

This was why she was on her way back to the DX again - Well because her parents needed some bread, and she'd seen some blades for sale there earlier. As she pulled up into the nearest parking spot, the first thing she noticed were a bunch of greasers hanging around outside by the cars, chortling at a group of socs. Laura promptly ignored the lot of them and held her head high as she stepped out of her parents' jet black car (despite a little dust), and made her way into the DX. The store was a little small, and it definitley wasn't held together as well as any of the stores back on the West side, but it was welcoming nonetheless (minus the intimidating looking hoods outside of course).

Laura was vaguely pleased to see Soda standing at the counter when she looked up, wearing that charming smile of his and holding a coke in one hand.

"Fancy seeing you here again. What can I getcha?" He asked, grinning still as she moved closer. But before she could even begin to answer his question, the door swung open again behind her. She froze in her tracks, nearly afraid to look, for she wasn't sure whether she'd come face to face with her previous attacker or someone worse. Needless to say, she'd been a little bit shaken up ever since the incident.

"Hey Soda, you got any money?" Yelled out yet another familiar voice, and she braved a glance over her shoulder to see a teenage boy with reddish-brown hair and kind eyes standing behind her; yet another familiar face. Laura, suddenly feeling the need to make herself scarce, shuffled off to the corner of the store where the switchblades were displayed. They were a lot more complicated than she would've thought. Some had coloured handles, some were larger than others, some more expensive. What was the difference? They were all used for the same thing in this town.

"Aw c'mon Soda man, I ain't got no cash on me and Pony and Johnny wanna go see a movie."

"Yeah right, Dal! Why dontcha just sneak in the back like always?"

At the mention of his name, Laura froze. He was _here_? She hadn't seen him since that night, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. Not only did she feel pathetic having to be rescued like that, but Dallas hadn't seemed all that happy about it either. Determined even moreso now not to be noticed, she shuffled slightly to the side so that one of the wooden shelves would block her from view as best as possible and bit her lip. Maybe this hadn't been the best idea after all.

Dally, Ponyboy and Johnny all shuffled closer to the counter, probably to chat better with Soda, once again putting her in their line of vision. She was determined not to look at them, but found herself throwing a quick glance over her shoulder anyway. All three boys were standing there; Ponyboy and Johnny's attentions were elsewhere, trying to chide Soda into handing them over a couple free cokes, but Dally was staring at her with a smirk on his face. It wasn't a suggestive smirk though, or even a playful one - When Dallas Winston smirked, it was only one of two things: Intimidating, taunting, or both. In this case, it may have been both.

He glanced at the case of switchblades in front of her and back again, and it was only then that she realized he _was _taunting her. But then, acting as if he didn't even know her at all, he turned back towards Soda and nodded in her direction. "You actually thinkin' of selling a blade to that broad or what?"

Laura brushed furiously. His comment directed the rest of the boy's attention to her, and they spun around to see what their friend was on about. Trying to muster up as much dignity as she could, the brunette crossed her arms over her chest and stood her ground. "I was just looking is all," She retorted. "What, a girl can't look for a blade around these parts? You think I'd need it in a town like this!"

As Dally continued to smirk at her and Soda, Johnny and Ponyboy exchaged glances, she realized she may have just come off as a bit of a - well, a bitch, for lack of a better word. "Gee I'm sorry," She said, offering the boys a hesitant smile. "I'm just lookin' for some protection is all, I nearly... Well, I was attacked a couple nights ago and needless to say it's made me pretty jumpy. Just ask your friend Dallas, he'll tell you all about it." She watched in satisfaction as his friend's eyebrows raised in surprise, and that smug smirk on his face finally faltered a bit.

"_You_ actually helped somebody out?" Ponyboy asked bluntly, expression revealing just how shocked he truly was. He looked from Laura to Dally, who's positions seemed to have changed. Laura was looking smug while Dally was merely looking flustered, instantly trying to brush it off and play it out like the incident wasn't a big deal.

He scowled. "What was I supposed to do, watch the guy force himself on her?" He growled, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his brown leather jacket. "Plus, I was drunk and lookin' for a fight. Tim had really pissed me off that night." He stared hard at Laura, as if trying to make sure his words sunk into her head, before turning back to the counter. Apparently now that she'd outsmarted him a notch, he'd taken to ignoring her instead.

"It was nice of ya anyways," Johnny, the dark-haired kid beside Ponyboy murmred. Laura was sure it was the first time she'd ever heard him say _anything_. She grinned at him while Dally could only grumble something about dumb broads and not knowing how to take care of themselves. Now, it was her turn to ignore him.

"Don't I go to school with y'all actually?" She asked, as if now just realizing it for the first time. The question was moreso directed at Ponyboy than anyone, since Johnny skipped more than he attended, Soda had dropped out, and Dally didn't seem the type to go to school if his life depended on it. "You're in my english class, aren't ya Ponyboy?" She felt a little bad for just pointing this out now. Maybe she'd been too wrapped up in her own world and her own friends to notice anything else going on around her; surely not the stereotypical greasers who got into knife fights and beat people up for fun. But having actually spoken to Ponyboy for a little while now, she could see he wasn't the type.

Ponyboy blushed. "Yeah, I was wonderin' when you'd figure it out. I gotta say, I was surprised when I saw you and your parents moving in across the street. Thought you lived over on the west side or somethin."

Laura laughed. She _had _been a little slow on the uptake, she supposed. "I did," She admitted, frowning a little now as she began to speak. "But my parents are havin' some money troubles. We couldn't afford the house on the west side no more, so we moved down here instead." She decided to leave out the fact that her boyfriend had broken up with her, her friends no longer wanted to talk to her, and nobody else on the west side wanted anything to do with her anymore now that she'd moved over to their side of town. She could hardly handle the look of pity on their faces (minus Dallas of course) even at what little information she'd just revealed. Then again, she didn't think she _had _to tell the rest of the story. They knew how it was.

"This part'a town ain't as bad as they make it out to be," Soda told her, grinning again. "Just you wait and see. With a face like that, you'll be making friends and breakin' hearts like nothin."

Laura smiled weakly, for talking about her money problems had only reminded her of her troubles. She suddenly felt uncomfortable and out of place, especially upon noticing she was still standing in front of the switchblades. Sheepishly she shied away, edging towards the door. "Thanks, but I should go. My parents'll be anxiously awaiting the return of their car, I bet. Probably shouldn't keep them waitin." But just as she began to reach for the doorknob, a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"What about your blade?"

She turned around to see Dallas Winston's eyes boring into her so intensely she couldn't even muster up a reply. She watched, dumbfounded, as he made his way over to the case, picked one out, and tossed it over to her. No words were said or exchanged, but the action still felt significant. To her anyway - Apparently not to Dallas, who had seemingly become bored and wandered off to go rifle through a stack of erotic magazines.

"Er - How much?" She questioned turning back to Soda, admittedly a little confused.

Soda grinned. "Don't worry about it, it's on the house. Anymore attackers come your way, don't be scared to use it ya hear?"

Laura smiled and started to head out, but before she could there was just one more thing she needed to do. Making sure to pass Dallas along the way, she leaned in close so that only he could hear her. "Thanks," She said shyly, though Dally only grunted in reply. He may have not been a very honourable guy, but there was one thing that was true about guys like Dallas Winston: Even if you didn't like them, you had to respect 'em.

Maybe she understood guys like him a little bit after all. 


End file.
